changing from pc to imac

[Michael-IIIf]

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I also like to know about my folder structure and that seem to be hidden in the finder, so at the moment I prefer Windows explorer.

 

There is a choice of four different ways of viewing your folder structure. Play with these buttons (or command-1, command-2, command-3, command-4 - when in Finder) and see which suits you. I always use command-3 because it gives a complete overview of the directory path.

 

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[delander †]

Thanks to all who advised me, I'm now enjoying the imac, this is my first post from the imac. But I have to tell you that making the internet connection was no easy matter, It required a half hour tel con with the ISP tech support, even though the router was pre-configured.

 

PS really dumb question, where is the delete key on the keyboard?

 

Jeff

[Nicoleica]

 

PS really dumb question, where is the delete key on the keyboard?

 

Jeff

 

Hi Jeff, which type of keyboard do you have? (There are several options.)

 

It's normally the one above the enter key on the wireless keyboards, but on the wired keyboards with a numeric pad, it's in the same block as the page-up/page-down keys. But different national keyboard layouts may vary.

[delander †]

Hi Nicole,

 

It is a wireless keyboard, with lot of symbols on the keys but not many words. I have phoned apple support and it is basically what I would call the backspace key. The keyboards seem to have changed recently, I was told to make them more in line with Windows keyboard. Mine is configured for the UK.

 

Mac OS refers to an 'option' key, but I was told that is now the 'alt' key.

 

This is an interesting learning curve. I could not get to grips with Safari, so I have downloaded Firefox, which I used to and will use that at least for the present.

 

Jeff

[Nicoleica]

It is an interesting learning curve, but you've only been on it for a couple of days so far. At some point in the near future, it will suddenly all 'click', and the full joy of using a Mac will become apparent. The hardest thing that many people find is un-learning all of the hard ways of doing things. (The way that they had to do things in Windows.)

[pgk]

The hardest thing that many people find is un-learning all of the hard ways of doing things in Windows.

As a Mac user for 20 years I've never had this problem. My occasional forays into PC land make me think that I'd have it the other way around though.

 

But the pupose of my post is to recommend Clam XAV (ClamXav) if you want a (free) virus checker. My copy sometimes finds PC viruses and is useful for ensuring that I don't pass them on to PC users.

[stunsworth]

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It is a wireless keyboard, with lot of symbols on the keys but not many words. I have phoned apple support and it is basically what I would call the backspace key. The keyboards seem to have changed recently, I was told to make them more in line with Windows keyboard. Mine is configured for the UK.

 

Jeff, apple removed the backspace key - along with the numeric keypad - in order to make the keyboard smaller. I use the older wired keyboard that has both of those - along with two USB ports. Personally I prefer this to the wireless keyboard. If you want to swap it may be worthwhile ringing Apple and asking if they'd be prepared to exchange the keyboard you have.

 

Personally I think the keyboards - and the original wired mouse - are pretty poor. They look good, but they not that great. The latest wireless mouse on the other hand I love.

 

If it's any consolation I use Firefox too.

[delander †]

It is an interesting learning curve, but you've only been on it for a couple of days so far. At some point in the near future, it will suddenly all 'click', and the full joy of using a Mac will become apparent. The hardest thing that many people find is un-learning all of the hard ways of doing things. (The way that they had to do things in Windows.)

 

To be honest Nicole, having used first MSDOS and then the various versions of Windows I never found Windows that hard. I was led to believe that setting up the imac would be virtually automatic, connecting to the internet would be a doddle but in the end it proved to be just as difficult as with Windows, I had to put in exactly the same info as I would have done on a PC, info that only my ISP was able to provide.

 

And then there was the problem of installing photoshop which needed a complete uninstall and reinstall to work.

 

That all being said it now seems to work but I would caution any PC users to think carefully before changing to a Mac.

 

Jeff

[andybarton]

Of course you have to put in your ISP details into any computer that you add to a network, otherwise your ISP won't know that you are authorised to access it. It's most likely this was due to the new router, not the Mac, btw. If you had had a router before you bought the Mac, it would have just picked up the IP address from that automatically.

 

The PS install thing was a glitch that could have happened on installing onto a PC too , so is hardly a reason for not moving to a Mac.

 

As you use it more, you will appreciate it more.

[bill_murray]

Mac users might want to have a peep at this......(no connection to me btw)...but we use Sophos products at work.

Freedom from malware has been a key advantage to me in using Macs but as the user base grows.....

Yes, you need anti-virus on your Mac.. and now it’s free | Naked Security

[microview]

Although I'd need the extended keyboard, it does look [http://www.apple.com/keyboard/] as if with the latest, smaller keyboard it's all spelled out for novice users, eg 'delete' 'alt/option' etc. You can order thru' Apple for a new iMac with full non-wireless keyboard with USB ports, but other London retailers make you buy it as a £39 extra.

 

If you double-click the Apple Macintosh HD icon you see everything on the machine; if you then click once on the arrow next to "PLACES", you can see the Applications and any icon can be drugged down with the mouse to the dock and released. If you have preset unwanted icons in your dock, just drag them p to disappear in a cloud of dust! (Easily reinstated if preferred.)

 

Try the backup feature Time Machine (the cogwheel dock icon) and you can back up everything regularly. It takes about 90min with a Firewire cable, thereafter any changes are uploaded in a few seconds. I recently bought the 1TB G-Tech hard drive, Time Machine compatible. It ignores folders on the desktop I found. Time Machine is described in the Apple Mac web pages.

[delander †]

My wireless keyboard looks exactly like the one you linked to except that it does not have labels such as delete, tab, option etc instead it has strange characters which don't mean much to me. Although I bought this machine last week it seems that it is not the latest keyboard.

 

Jeff

[andybarton]

You will soon get used to it.

 

The most important one is the one with the "4 leaf clover" icon. That's the "Command" key which, when pressed gives you access to all the keyboard shortcuts such as Command-C "Copy", Command-V "Paste" and so on.

 

It acts in an identical way to CTRL-C on a PC, but was doing it when DOS 3 was a mere twinkle in someone's eye.

[andybarton]

Here's a snap of my keyboard - it's about 9 months old.

 

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[Nicoleica]

My wireless keyboard looks exactly like the one you linked to except that it does not have labels such as delete, tab, option etc instead it has strange characters which don't mean much to me. Although I bought this machine last week it seems that it is not the latest keyboard.

 

Jeff

 

I think that you have probably got the current keyboard Jeff. The one shown on the web link is the US keyboard layout. This is a bit different from the UK or other international keyboards. My wireless keyboard is almost the same as Andy's apart from not having a £ sign as mine is a Dutch format. Mine also is rather devoid of words on the keys, but has symbols which work for most languages.

[newtoleica]

Jeff,

May be a bit late, but have you seen this switching resource?

Apple - Support - Switch 101

Regards

[delander †]

I've just discovered that it you lightly run your finger up and down the top surface of the magic mouse you get the scrolling action. Very cool. I've relooked at the tiny instructions that came with the magic mouse and this feature is documented there, but I did not realise what it meant.

 

Jeff

[Nicoleica]

Hi Jeff,

 

You can also scroll sideways, or even diagonally or in a circular pattern if you wish. Very handy when working on large photographs or web pages.

 

If you move two fingers sideways on the magic mouse, it's the same as using the forwards and backwards buttons in viewing web pages.

[delander †]

OK I'm getting to find my way around how the i-mac does things and I'm getting to like it.

 

Info on the web indicates that my Monaco Optix wont work properly on the i-mac and there are no updated drivers. At the moment I dont feel like buying a new colour calibration tool so I've been printing out some Kodak test images and comparing the on screen image with those printed by my Epson 3800 and the original prints provided by Kodak. They all look very similar except that the on screen image is brighter so I have turned down the brightness on the screen to match the Epson printed image.

 

I know it is very difficult to compare backlit screen image with a printed image viewed under reflected light and I have no real control over the colour temp of the reflected light, but for my purposes it seems a good compromise whilst I decide what to do about a new screen colour profiler.

 

Jeff

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[Michael-IIIf]

I've just discovered that it you lightly run your finger up and down the top surface of the magic mouse you get the scrolling action. Very cool. I've relooked at the tiny instructions that came with the magic mouse and this feature is documented there, but I did not realise what it meant.

 

Jeff

 

You can also download the FREE Bettertouchtool and have the magic mouse configured to tap for click (like a laptop's trackpad) which I find very useful. Bettertouchtool also does a whole host of other features.